We picked up the route on the edge of Princes Risborough and initially walked along the A4010 before turning right onto the Icknield Way and crossing a vast newly ploughed field. After skirting a golf course we noticed a deer farm to the left.
As were climbing towards Lodge Hill we started to enjoy fine the view back towards Windsor Hill and Princes Risborough shown in the photo at the head of this post.
Lodge Hill is a long narrow spit of land almost 200m above sea level and offering an interesting view to the left (south west) ...
... and a spectacular one to the right (north east).
The route carries on to the north east, across fields, skirting a wooded hill top.
After a lovely undulating sheep meadow, you enter woodland (The Warren).
You soon leave the wood and descend to turn left and head south west along a bridleway shared with Swan's Way (which coincidentally I travelled on earlier in the week at Ewelme in Oxfordshire). And at about this point we entered Oxfordshire ourselves.
You pass below Chinnor Hill and follow a wide, straight muddy track, which has the feel of a dismantled railway, past a series of chalk pits, with Oakley Hill behind. This one had a claim to be a blue lagoon.
Another mile or so brought us to the crossing road which led to Kingston Blount where we had an enjoyable lunch in the Cherry Tree pub.
We wondered about the unusual name of the village and the Oxfordshire Villages website reveals that it is derived from an estate or manor belonging to the king but occupied by the Le Blund family in the 13th century. Blund is an old Norman name meaning blond.
Conditions: bright and sunny.
Distance: 6.3 miles (24.6 covered so far).
Map: Explorer 181 (Chiltern Hills North) and 171 (Chiltern Hills West).
Rating: three and a half stars.
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